Monday, 31 December 2012

As a child I remember making a calendar each year
at school for Mum, using one of my drawings and those little one month-to-a-view
calendars. Amazingly, you can still buy them (the cheapest I found are in
Wilkinsons). So I thought that this year I would make a calendar page each
month to showcase the latest stamps available at That’s Crafty!

I tore off the January page, trimmed the ragged
top and coloured it with the Mustard Seed Distress Stain. I stuck both parts
onto grey card from my stash and used my Bind it All to make the perforations.

Rather than a calendar, which ordinarily you would
make all in one go, you could also use the calendar pages as dividers in a
home-made smash book for 2013, binding it all together at the end. (You could
also use book rings, bakers twine or Tim Holtz Idea-ology Crinkle Ribbon.) In keeping with the deliberate chaos of a smash book, the
dividers don’t even have to be the same size or orientation.

Thursday, 20 December 2012

I
wanted to use mainly non Christmas stamps to make this little hanging
decoration. I have given it a bit of festive cheer by adding glitter to it.

I
cut the main shape out of a bit of waste mount board left over from a larger
project.

I
inked this using one of the new Seasonal Distress Ink Pads, Evergreen Bough. I
stamped the back ground using Black Archival ink, masking as I went. I ran a
Metallic Gold Dabber round the edge.

The
wings are die cuts using a black shiny card and then my little clockwork angel
was coloured in using Distress Markers,assembled and added to the die cut shape. I Glossy Accented the key to
make it “pop” a little bit.

I
punched a hole top and bottom for hanging, finishing it off with a reclaimed
chandelier droplet from my stash.

Wednesday, 19 December 2012

I wanted to do something different this time
round. I have a few electronic die cutting machines, however I have only used
them to cut out layers and simple embellishments.I have always wanted to explore the options offered
to me via the Silhouette web site and projects that you can purchase for as
little as 99 pence. This was one of the projects I downloaded and it
came in one download. Some of them can be in as many as 2 or 3 downloads.

The stamps used to embellish the project were once
again from my fav stable of stamps Dylusions and the main stamps used was How Does Your Garden Grow along with using a mixed collection from the other stamp
sets I have for added decoration.

The first
thing to do is to cut out the design. This took 2 sheets of 12 inch card stock.
For this I used some backing card that was used to protect some card stock I
bought. I don't throw anything away as you never know, when it can be used. Also
the 'Kraft' paper look is in vogue and gives you that Rustic aged look.

The next step was to have a look at what was cut
out and then secure with a good clear glue the flaps that indicate where the
glue goes and then secured into place.

To decorate the pockets, I dipped into my scraps
box and then used 3 different papers to cover the pockets. You don't have to do
this, you can leave them 'bare' it's your project so it's your call on this.

When I had
covered the pockets it was time to start decorating them. I wanted to use a
new stamp collection that I had bought How does your Garden Grow. You can build
up several scenes with these stamps. Using my colouring medium, the next step
was to colour in the impressions. To give extra highlights, the Sakura pens were
used in a complimentary colour ie green was used for the leaves, gold was used
for the yellow beaks etc.

Using other stamps from the same designer, I
stamped onto each pocket. Some were the How does your Garden Grow to keep a
theme moving along, other pages were done using the edging stamps. These were coloured
in again using pens and alcohol inks.

Now I have used alcohol inks, as this is the medium
that goes well with theses ink pads. Always make sure that you use the right
ink for the right colouring medium. If you don't, you will find that the stamped
impression will bleed into the colour and it can end up a mess.

The part of the project when it comes to
decoration, is a pure personal one. Be inspired by what you see but try to put
your own personal slant onto things. While it's nice to see a project that has
been copied step by step, it's always nicer to see a project that has been given
a different treatment.

Now then, while I was doing some research into how
some other crafters have decorated and made their Memories pockets, I came
across the wonderful art of the paper beads. It's a wonderful crafting area and I'm looking
forward to building up a large collection of beads. The ones I have used here
are some of the first I have made. They have not been varnished yet - this
is something I'm looking forward to over the coming weeks to take them to the next
level. I have seen some of the finished results and you
can't believe what results can happen. I recommend highly that you do a search
on YouTube and take a look. The best paper bead template on the market is
available from Thats Crafty - it's something I can highly recommend
to add to your crafting mask/template collections. It's also at a very very good
price that's not going to break the bank.

This project when cut out, is in two parts, with a
flap at the front that when secured into place, covers the side securing parts.
To do this, I took the tread and threaded through the two holes that is included
in the design. A good layer of glue was placed on the spine and I tied some
thread into a knot. This would be covered up by the front flap, so it didn't
have to be tidy! Beads were then threaded onto the threads - you can
place charms etc. Several knots and then some glue secured the knots when I
trimmed as close as possible.

There you have it a keep sake or something that
can be made to pass on as a present. You can include photos onto the Journal panels and
give to someone as a keepsake or something can that can go into a bag and
shown to friends when you want to share something of yourself/family or
something you have done or place you have been to.

I hope this might inspire you to try something
like this. I enjoyed making it and will be making a few more to give as presents
in the coming years.

Any questions please ask and I will do my best to
help.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. My
hope for 2013 is that more people join in our wonderful world of crafting.

Thursday, 13 December 2012

Hi,
for my piece this week I have used two of the lovely new stamps from Crafty
Individuals range of Alice Palace Stamps.

I
am still working on my length of beer mat bunting for my fireplace, so I have
made a couple additions to it with these stamps. I have worked out I need
13to go across it and give a nice
curve, so I am now in a quandary, should I do 14 to avoid the unlucky 13. These
are number 11 & 12 so not far to go now.

I
love the robin one as he is such a saucy looking little fella and the plate has
a real retro look to it.

Hares
always make me think of winter especially these ones with their little crowns,
the masked snowflake back ground makes the whole thing very wintery.

Wednesday, 12 December 2012

This project didn't start out as I had worked out
in my Small Brain. I guess when they say an idea has too much room to move in,
kind of works with ME! However when I did start to work on the imagery, I threw
everything at it. Alcohol Pens, Marker Pens, Indian Ink Pens and Pan Pastels.

As you know, I like to break down the card into
various different tasks. With this, it's split into 3 different projects. The
background, the layer and then the main topper.

Let's start with the background layer. Taking an
empty cereal box, trim off the top and bottom flaps and then cut up along the
overlapping part of the box that you can feel in the inside. What we are after
is the front and back, we don't need the sides but don't throw away, as they make
great Poor Crafters Grungeboard when glued together.

Taking the mask, place that on what was the inside
of the box and lay down a thick layer of the Glass Beads Texture Gel with a palette knife. Carefully
lift up (remember it could be heavier than when you first placed it onto the
cardboard, as it will have some texture on it). Scrape as much paste as you can
back into the bottle, firmly close the lid and then wash in warm soapy water
the palette knife and the mask. Allow to air dry - this applies also to the
textured cardboard, just let it dry over night.

Using the metal foil that's used to wrap round pipes (it can be found in most hardware stores and it also has a peel off backing to
help with placement), take 2 cut lengths of the foil and run it through your
embossing machine while in the folder. This will give you the impression that's
wanted. All you have to do now, is measure up (don't worry if you're out by a
little, as the silver ribbon will cover that up). We are going to use the other
part of the cereal box for this. After you have removed the backing paper
secure onto the box, then using the outline left from the folder, cut around and
place to one side. The silver ribbon will cover up any overlapping issues.
Using the Blending Tool and a selection of Alcohol inks and blending
mixture, just lay down some colour onto the silver foil. Again, just lay some
random colour down, it's not a case of everything has to be done following the
grid lines etc. it's just a case of let's make it more colourful.

Now then, the main image. This image is built up
using two of the stamps in the set. To do this, we have to make a mask from the
Post-It Notes. What ever image you have at the front, then that's the one
we make the mask for. So looking at the image, it's the image of the woman
standing side on. Ink up the image and then stamp onto the Post-It.

TIP TIP TIP TIP......Try to maneuver the stamp on
the acrylic block, so that as much of the image is covering the section that is
covered by the tacky strip of the Post-It - this will make the mask secure while
over stamping.

Carefully using a pair of scissors that can cut
right to the tip, carefully cut as close to if not clipping, the black line
around the image. For those harder areas use a craft knife with a new sharp
blade in. Now then, taking the white card, stamp the first
stamp onto the card and allow to dry for a few moments. By the time you have
cleaned the stamp and put it away and reloaded the next stamp, you will be
fine. Place the mask you have made over the stamped image.

TIP TIP TIP TIP... Now then, not all of us are
confident enough to go right in there and stamp one stamp onto another. It's
fine if the stamps are clear - you know what you're doing. However, what happens if
the stamps are solid rubber? We can't see what's happening under and if we have
made that perfect match. So using some scrap paper just practice stamping and
over stamping. The mask will not rub away and it doesn't matter how many times
you place it onto the mask, it will last a long time - however, remember it's paper,
so some care and looking after is always needed.

Now that we are happy with the placement we can
build up our stamped image. Any small misses can be touched up by using the
fine nibbed black pen. Let's start to colour in the image. If you want to
build up layers of colour, then remember the simple rule of 3 shades of the
same hue -light, mid tone and dark. This will give you the opportunity to give
depth to your colouring. Like the dress - what I did was to lay down a layer of
the lightest colour all over the dress. Then taking the mid tones, I built up
where all the folds are. The dark tone was used just to highlight the shadows.
Then when I was happy, I went over the dress again with the lightest colour to
blend everything in.

When I had finished using the ProMarkers, I
wondered if I could highlight using my felt tip pens. Again, before you
jump into the main image TRY IT FIRST on some scrap paper that's the same as
the surface you have already stamped onto. Just stamp out part of the image,
lay some ProMarker colour down and then try the felt tip or any other
colouring medium you want to use. Always use the same materials to test on as
you are using. If you didn't, you would never get the same result. What can
happen on one paper surface, might not happen on another.

After the colouring has been done, it's time to cut
the image out - I have used a Spellbinders die. The outer edges were coloured in using Pan
Pastels. These are something I'm going to have to spend time and start to
explore using. I think from what I have done so far they have been just wonderful. They
just blend into each other so well, also they can be rubbed out which is
something ink cant be done lol.

Once again as with the colouring, I took 3 shades of
the same colour and divided the topper into 2. I wanted to use the same
colouring as had been used in the colouring of the images. This would give some
continuity in colouring.

Now all that was left was to lay colour down onto
the Glass Beads texture. I made a selection not worrying if they went together
- I was not going to get all OH YOU CAN'T HAVE RED and GREEN! erm.. have you
looked at a rose? Taking the ink bottles, I just pointed and pressed, even with
some, after l had taken aim, I closed my eyes so that I couldn't make that choice
of where. Using a roll of paper towel, I mopped up the
puddles so that the ink wouldn't just lay there and gave it a
few blasts with a heat gun helps.

When you're happy with the results, using the mask
edge as a guide, cut out an oblong shape that's about 1 inch smaller all around
than the black card you have constructed. Secure the textured card layer onto your card
stock, followed by the silver metal tape layer finally the figure layer.

All thats left to do, is raid the garage or your
partners tool box for some washers and nuts (MAKE SURE THEY ARE CLEAN!!!!!)
and with the strong clear glue, secure into place.

There you have it, a card that each layer can be
transferred to any other project as a single item.

Any questions please send me a message and I will
get back to you as soon as possible.

·Stamp the Nutcracker on a piece of card, colour him
in…. I wanted him to have a wonky neck so I cut off the head and made a false
neck using a little piece of card that I coloured the same colour as his face.
Position onto card and glue into place.

·Stamp the cat from the mini Halloween set and the
merry Christmas from the mini holidays set.

·Edge with chalk ink, adhere to a piece of backing
paper, I’ve used red as this seemed to co-ordinate nicely. Edge the backing
paper and then glue to a card blank.